Liam pushed open the glass doors of the hotel and stepped outside. The morning air greeted him with an unsettling stillness. No chatter, no vendors on the corner, not even the faint rumble of traffic in the distance. Just silence. Too much silence.
His jog had started as routine, just another excuse to stretch his legs and keep his body active, but now each step against the concrete rang in his ears like a warning. The world around him felt stripped bare. Not a dog barking, not a leaf rustling. Have they evacuated everyone? The thought sank into his gut like lead. Of course they have. If the government really wants to go all out, they'd clear the area first.
A shiver traveled down Liam's spine. His instincts screamed that he was being watched. Every hair on his body stood on end. His breathing became sharp and deliberate, as though the very air had turned heavy. He glanced at windows, rooftops, the empty street, but saw nothing—nothing but that eerie quiet that made his skin crawl.
Think. Think. His mind raced. How do I get out of this?
He jogged a little farther, pretending to stretch, pretending to be casual, but inside he was already forming a decision. The forest nearby. Dense enough to cover him, unpredictable enough to throw off pursuers. It wasn't much, but it was better than waiting here like prey.
"Fuck it," he muttered under his breath, his jaw tightening. "It's better than nothing."
His eyes hardened with resolve. He pushed mana into his legs, coating his feet until they shimmered faintly, almost invisible. Then, without hesitation, he whispered the word that would ignite his body:
"Dash."
The world blurred.
His body shot forward with explosive speed, the wind ripping past his ears.
Up on a rooftop, hidden eyes tracked him. Jack's men.
"Uh—vice captain," one of the soldiers reported into his earpiece, eyes narrowing through the scope of his rifle. "The target's bolting. Heading into the forest zone. Should we engage?"
Normally, the order would have been restraint—observe, report, wait. But this time was different. This was no ordinary mission. Jack's cold voice came through the comms like a blade of ice:
"Normally I'd say hold back. But the government wants him erased at any cost. Fire at will."
"Yes, sir."
Eight men adjusted their rifles in unison. The first crack of a gunshot echoed across the street, shattering the silence. Then the storm began.
The air filled with the deafening roar of bullets. Sparks flew as lead tore into pavement, walls, and abandoned cars. Liam's eyes widened.
"Shit! Not here, not today!"
He clenched his fists, summoning his telekinesis. An invisible barrier shimmered around him just as the first barrage struck. Bullets slowed, crushed, and bent midair before clattering uselessly to the ground. But each impact rattled his barrier like a drum, draining him faster than he liked.
His dash slowed as he realized—I'm running out of mana.
Breath ragged, Liam dared a glance behind him. Dust trails rose on the street as black vehicles surged forward, engines growling like predators. The soldiers who had fired were already in pursuit, their weapons still flashing as they chased him down.
They're not just following—they're hunting me.
A madness flickered in Liam's eyes. He stopped dead in his tracks, boots skidding against gravel. The decision hit him with terrifying clarity: there was no outrunning this.
"Well," he muttered, a twisted grin forming despite the fear squeezing his chest. "If I'm going to die anyway, I might as well take some of them with me."
He turned. Mana flickered around his feet again, but this time it wasn't for escape—it was for impact. His body leaned forward, eyes blazing with desperation and fury. With a guttural roar, he charged headlong toward the oncoming vehicles.
The soldiers inside weren't expecting it.
"Vice captain, he's coming straight at us! Do we—do we stop?!" one of the men shouted, panic in his voice.
Jack's voice cut through their hesitation, calm and merciless:
"Continue. Don't stop. Run him down if you must."
There was no warmth in his tone. Only certainty.
Inside the lead vehicle, Jack himself sat in silence, eyes narrowed as he watched the chaos unfold on the monitor mounted to the dashboard. His lips pressed into a thin line as he reached for the metal briefcase by his side.
The locks clicked open.
From within, he lifted a weapon—a sword. Plain in design, unmarked by ornate carvings or jewels, yet its edges glistened unnaturally sharp. It caught the light like a sliver of moon, and the air itself seemed to recoil from its presence.
Jack's fingers curled around the hilt with familiarity, his expression unreadable. To him, this wasn't a mission. It was inevitability.
Meanwhile, Liam's charge was reckless, fueled by dwindling mana and desperation. He hurled chunks of broken concrete and twisted steel at the vehicles with his telekinesis. The debris slammed into windshields, dented hoods, and forced cars to swerve violently. Gunfire roared again, but Liam twisted through it, his barrier screaming under the pressure. His muscles burned, his lungs felt aflame, but still he pushed forward.
"I'm not dying here!" he bellowed, voice cracking with raw defiance.
The first vehicle swerved directly into his path. Liam dropped to one knee, slammed his palm into the ground, and forced a telekinetic shockwave outward. The asphalt cracked violently, launching the front of the car into the air before it crashed sideways into a lamppost. Flames licked at the wreckage, the screams of soldiers muffled by the roaring engine fire.
But the other vehicles didn't stop.
Headlights blazed as they bore down on him, bullets still streaking through the air. Liam staggered, blood trickling from his temple, mana flickering around him like dying embers. His legs trembled, but he refused to fall.
In the distance, Jack's car rolled steadily forward. Unlike the chaos behind him, Jack's vehicle moved with eerie calm, as though nothing could deter it. Inside, Jack rested the sword across his knees, eyes fixed ahead.
"Soon," he whispered, almost to himself.
Liam could feel it too—the storm wasn't just the soldiers or their bullets. Something far more dangerous was waiting for him in that car. The sharp, suffocating aura of a killer.
He clenched his fists tighter, his body screaming in protest. If this is the fight they want, then fine. I'll give them hell before I fall.
" System,is there any thing that can help me " Liam said with desperation
The system answered coldly as usual
[ I don't know what type of idiot you are ,you have attribute point and you don't use them and not to mention the system shop where you can buy anything ,may I say more to clarify what type of idiot you are ]